News
Six Die In Kano Blasts
A twin blast that simultaneously rock a Catholic Church and police checkpoint in Kano metropolis yesterday claimed the lives of a soldier, a suicide bomber and four others.
The Kano State Commissioner of Police, Adelanre Shinaba told newsmen in Kano that the attack on Saint Charles’ Catholic Church located at Zungeru Road, Sabon Gari, Kano occurred shortly after the Sunday mass when an object suspected to be Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was thrown at the church from the opposite direction.
Shinaba explained that the impact left a soldier on duty dead, while four others that include a toddler, two women and a man, instantly dead.
The police commissioner disclosed that eight other worshippers sustained various degrees of injury during the attack.
He revealed that three suspects were arrested at the scene of the blast, pointing out that investigation has already commenced to ascertain their level of complicity.
In another attack, yesterday, the police boss further revealed that a 15-year old female suicide bomber blew up herself at a police nipping point leaving five personnel injured.
Shinaba said that the incident occurred at Gidan Murtala by Kofar Nassarawa overhead bridge around 1.00pm, adding that four of the affected officers have been treated and discharged.
The police boss disclosed that two suspects were also arrested in connection with the prime vehicle abandoned at Isyaku Rabiu mosque earlier in the day.
He appealed to the citizens to be extra vigilant and report suspicious movements and persons to security agents for prompt action.
Similarly, a female suicide bomber yesterday, blew herself up outside a university in Kano, after they prevented her from carrying out an attack, injuring five officers, police said.
“A female suicide bomber was isolated as she was walking towards the gate of the university,” said police spokesman, Frank Mba, adding that she had hidden the bomb under her “long black hijab”.
“Police on duty isolated her” because she was behaving strangely, Mba said.
They were about to ask a woman colleague to frisk the woman when she detonated the bomb, killing herself and injuring the five police officers, he said.
However, the Emir of Kano State, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has cancelled Eid festivities marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan next week after a deadly church bombing and a female suicide bomber’s attempt to attack a university, an official said yesterday.
A statement issued by the Emir reads: “Given the critical situation we are in, the Royal Highness, Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi) has suspended all festivities associated with the eminence, including the Durbar and other traditional events that are held during the Eid festival,” an aide to the emir, Aminu Ado Bayero, told newsmen.
Meanwhile, the Kano State chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has exempted medical doctors working in the surgery department of the Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital, Kano, from the ongoing strike following last Wednesday’s bomb blasts in the state.
This is because majority of those admitted at the hospital in the wake of the attacks suffered serious injuries.
Kano State Chairman of the association, Dr Sharfuddeen Mashi told newsmen that the decision was in line with the position of their national body which resolved that wherever a case of natural or man-made disaster occurred as in the case of a bomb blast, medical doctors in the affected area should suspend action over a specified period to save lives.
He added that similar gesture has been extended to medical doctors at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Kano, and some local government councils in the state as a result of the cholera outbreak in their areas.
“They are exempted from the industrial action so as to attend to patients until such a time when the outbreak has been brought under control”, he added.
Nonetheless, the Kano State Government has announced the outbreak of cholera in a total of 11 local government councils in the state.
Acting Director, Public Health and Disease Control in the Kano State Ministry of Health, Alhaji Tijjani Useni, at a press conference, confirmed the outbreak in the state, saying the disease had killed six persons while about 116 cases have been recorded across the state.
He said the affected local governments, located outside the metropolitan area, are Wudil, Gaya, Sumaila, Tudum Wada, Doguwa, among others.
The official said government has intensified efforts to control the outbreak, adding that they have purchased emergency drugs for the treatment and conducted a rapid assessment of the situation in the high-burden local government councils.
Similarly, five people were Killed after a bomb was thrown into the premises of St. Charles Catholic Church in Sabongari Area of Kano Sunday.
Confirming the incident, Nigeria Police public relations officer, Frank Mba, said an attacker threw the bomb into the church premises soon after the end of the church service.
Meanwhile, vigilant security agents were able to prevent an earlier bombing after noticing the suspicious move of a woman suicide bomber who attempted to detonate bomb at Kofar Nasarawa also in Kano.
According to Kano state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Magaji Musa Majiya the woman suicide bomber looked confused while asking for directions from passersby, adding that her suspicious behaviour caught the attention of the security agents.
The suicide bomber lost her life in the process.
Earlier on Sunday, the police had discovered bomb explosives at the second largest Eid prayer ground in Kano.
Nigerians were among more than 140 residents injured after Iran launched multiple ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles at the United Arab Emirates, at the weekend.
This raised fresh fears for thousands of Nigerians living and working in the Gulf nation.
The UAE Ministry of Defence disclosed last Saturday that its air defence systems intercepted several missiles and drones fired from Iran, describing the attack as a major escalation in the ongoing regional tensions.
In a statement posted on its official X handle, the ministry said its air defence units engaged nine ballistic missiles and 33 drones during the latest assault on March 14.
It added that the attacks left six people dead and 141 others injured, including foreign nationals.
“The UAE air defence systems on March 14 engaged nine ballistic missiles and 33 UAVs launched from Iran,” the ministry stated.
“Since the onset of this blatant Iranian aggression, UAE air defences have engaged 294 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 1,600 UAVs launched from Iran,” UAE added.
According to the ministry, those killed in the attacks included citizens of the UAE as well as foreign nationals from Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
“Although the authorities did not specify the exact locations where the casualties occurred, the ministry said the injured victims were from several countries, including Nigeria.
Others affected include residents from Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Iran, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The list also included Azerbaijan, Yemen, Uganda, Eritrea, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Comoros, Türkiye, Iraq, Nepal, Oman, Jordan, Palestine, Ghana, Indonesia and Sweden.
The Tide reports that this development has sparked concern among Nigerian communities in the UAE, where thousands of citizens live and work in sectors such as construction, hospitality, logistics and trade.
Data from Nigeria’s diaspora commission shows that the UAE remains one of the largest destinations for Nigerian migrants in the Middle East, particularly in the emirates of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
The Nigerian government had in recent years raised concerns over the safety and welfare of its citizens in the country following diplomatic tensions and visa restrictions affecting Nigerians.
Saturday’s attacks have now heightened anxieties within the diaspora community, especially as the Gulf region faces growing military confrontations.
In its statement, the UAE Ministry of Defence said the country remained fully prepared to confront any threats to its security.
“The Ministry of Defence remains fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats and will firmly confront any attempts to undermine state security in a manner that ensures the protection of its sovereignty, security and stability, and safeguards its national interests and capabilities,” the ministry said.
In a separate update, the ministry noted that its defence systems were still actively intercepting missiles and drones.
“UAE air defences are dealing with Iranian ballistic and cruise missiles and drones,” it said.
Regional media reports indicate that the attacks form part of a wider escalation of hostilities between Iran and Western-backed forces in the Middle East.
According to Al Jazeera, Iran has continued sustained missile and drone strikes across the Gulf despite protests from neighbouring states.
The strikes were said to be in retaliation for military operations launched by the United States and Israel against Iranian positions in the region.
Tehran targeted several Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, late on Friday and into Saturday.
The attacks also caused infrastructural damage in parts of the UAE.
Meanwhile, Iran’s elite military wing, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, warned that US interests in the UAE would remain legitimate targets.
Iranian state media reported that the group issued the warning after US forces attacked Iranian-controlled islands.
The IRGC specifically mentioned ports, docks and military installations linked to the United States as potential targets.
It also urged residents in the UAE to evacuate areas around ports and military facilities to avoid civilian casualties.
Security analysts say the growing exchange of threats and strike across the Gulf could destabilise the region’s economic and aviation activities if the conflict escalates further.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yet to issue an official statement on the incident as of the time of filing this report.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has charged the five new commissioners sworn-in last Wednesday to put in their best for the development of the State.
Fubara gave the charge during the swearing-in of the commissioners at the Executive Council Chambers of the Government House, Port Harcourt, last Wednesday.
This followed the successful screening of the five commissioners by the Rivers State House of Assembly, last Tuesday.
The five commissioners are Tonye Bellgam, Prof. Temple Nwofor, Dr. Peters Nwagor, Mr. Lekue Kenneth, and Sir Amairigha Edward Hart.
The Tide reports that the governor had sent nine commissioner-nominees to the Assembly for screening, but the Assembly confirmed only five nominees and rejected the nomination of four over various allegations.
Those rejected by the Assembly are Prof. Dantonye Alasia, Mrs. Charity Demua, Mr. Tamuno Williams, and Otonye Amachree.
The governor congratulated the new commissioners on their appointment, noting that their thorough screening by the Rivers State House of Assembly was a proof of their capabilities.
He urged them to deploy their wealth of experience in various fields and put the State on a fast lane of development.
“Ordinarily, I am supposed to charge you on your responsibilities and how to operate. But that has been taken care of by the screening at the Assembly.
“I believe that going through one of the most rigorous screenings, it is enough to say that for those of you who succeeded, you are fit and ready to deliver to our dear State.
“So there is no further charge. The screening was the charge, so I wish you the best as I don’t expect anything less than the best from you,” Fubara said.
The Nigerian Navy has intensified its crackdown on crude oil theft and illegal bunkering, destroying a reactivated illegal refinery site in Rivers State and intercepting suspected stolen petroleum products in Calabar, Cross River State.
The Director of Naval Information, Capt Abiodun Folorunsho, disclosed this in a statement released in Abuja, yesterday.
Folorunsho said personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship SOROH, operating under Operation DELTA SENTINEL, destroyed a reactivated illegal refinery site at Okolomade Community in Abua-Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State.
He said the action followed credible intelligence that a previously dismantled illegal refining site had resumed operations.
According to him, an Anti–Crude Oil Theft team deployed to the location discovered that the dismantled refining oven had been reconstructed.
“Further exploitation of the area led to the discovery of additional refining equipment and storage facilities containing about 3,000 litres of product suspected to be illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO),” he said.
Folorunsho added that the illegal refining infrastructure, including ovens, storage tanks, hoses, connected pipes and newly acquired metal components used for illegal refining, was destroyed in line with operational procedures.
He said personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship Victory, in another operation, intercepted about 3,950 litres of suspected stolen petroleum products at the Nigerian Ports Authority area in Calabar, Cross River State.
He said the interception was based on credible intelligence on suspected siphoning of petroleum products from vessels berthed at the port.
The naval patrol team, according to him, swiftly deployed to the area and traced the illegally siphoned products to a trailer park within the port facility.
“On sighting the naval patrol team, the suspected perpetrators fled the scene, after which the area was cordoned off and the illegally siphoned products secured,” he said.
Folorunsho said further inspection led to the recovery of about 3,950 litres of Automotive Gas Oil stored in drums and jerrycans, which had been evacuated to the naval base for further necessary action in line with extant regulations.
He noted that the successes aligned with the directive of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Idi Abbas, to intensify operations against crude oil theft and other maritime crimes across Nigeria’s maritime domain.
Folorunsho reiterated the Navy’s commitment to sustaining the operational tempo of Operation DELTA SENTINEL through intensified surveillance, patrols and intelligence-driven operations aimed at combating crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and other forms of economic sabotage.
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